Review Summary: Man this is one dry winter...
Admitted that I'm one of the few (if not the only person) who has heard of this band on this site. They're slightly popular here in my town, starting out as a combination of old-Slipknot and Pantera. However something must've happened to the band, maybe they got worried that their brand of Texas groovy nu-metal was gonna go stale, so they decided that a complete overhaul with the band's sound was in order. Now one look at this album cover and it smells of a possible Gothic rocker's fantasy, however it couldn't be further from the truth. This band has completely gone mainstream (sold out? that's for you to decide). Now I'm an optimist and still listened to it all the way through, it's not bad, however I feel that they can do much better.
The band's sound is accessible, in fact vocalist Tony voice draws similarities to New Found Glory & A Day to Remember, while the guitars are heavy and gritty, & bassist/backup vocalist Lodi sounds like Ivan of Motograter when giving backup. One problem this band has is that when it comes to lyrics they aren't poets. A lot of the songs are overly cliche ("Killing Me" & "The Pain"), while some don't distract and even have shining moments ("Under Attack" & "Believe"). Another problem is diversity, this band just doesn't spread itself apart enough. A lot of the songs use the EXACT same song structure and even sound the same ("Under Attack"="Killing Me"). There are some very key moments on this album such as "Believe" this song while it may have trouble opening up, once it's hits the chorus the song hits you hard and doesn't let go. "Under Attack" has a brilliant chorus that is extremely catchy, and the opening guitar riff to "Maniac" is pure genius.
While I respect this band's occasional talent, which shines on this album from time to time, and the quality of this album is a lot better then most independently released albums. I think some proper motivation and a better producer could make this band shine. Until then we have a band that shines only some of the time, some of the time. In all fairness this album is like a meal with lots of vegetables, but little meat. It may hold you over for now, but soon you'll be craving something better.
Pros-
Good clean quality
Some talent
Accessible as it gets
Cons-
Overly cliche song writing
Little to no diversity
Band fails to be serious most of the time
Recommended Tracks-
Under Attack
Believe
